Night had fallen. In the camp beyond the Great Wall, small groups of soldiers still sat around blazing bonfires. More than two hundred body bags lay nearby, but even more alien corpses were piled on the other side.
"It's everyone's first time facing monsters like these. Even though we were mentally prepared, we were still caught a little off guard. We'll do better next time." Zi Juan patted Xiang An's shoulder and offered a word of comfort.
Xiang An let out a long sigh, sorrow in his eyes. "There aren't many old soldiers left who followed our family from Kuaiji. I just feel like we shouldn't let down those who have followed our family in battle across the land all this time. But with Big Brother being like this now, and things on my side..."
Shaking his head, Xiang An rubbed his temples. "Little Four, I'm afraid of one thing. I'm afraid that by the day the realm is unified, there won't be many familiar old faces left beside us because of the war."
"If it comes to that, then what meaning is there in sitting on the throne of the common ruler?"
"I hate war. Every time I see people who should have been living smiling lives here in the Central Plains instead holding weapons that can take each other's lives, killing one another despite never having met before, my heart aches terribly."
"This should have been a thriving land, yet it has become like this because of war..."
"Is that Second Brother's ideal and purpose?" Zi Juan sat behind Xiang An and asked.
"Yes. Stop the war! Let the Central Plains return to the peace it was meant to have." Xiang An nodded. "The reason Big Brother and I were named the 'Savior Machines' was because Father and